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Andrew Wereszczak

ORNL Distinguished Scientist and Joint Faculty Professor

Andrew Wereszczak

Contact Information

310 Ferris Hall,
1508 Middle Drive,
Knoxville, TN 37996-2100

Phone
865-974-0645

Email
[email protected]

Research Areas

  • Science and engineering of brittle materials
  • Brittle materials used in armor, internal combustion engines, gas turbine engines, filtration, high-temperature processing, thermoelectric devices, electronic devices, actuators, rolling contact and wear applications, consumer items, and nuclear applications.
  • Micro-, meso-, and macro-mechanical response as a function of material microstructure
  • Mechanical reliability and thermal management of structures
  • Novel mechanical test methods
  • High-temperature mechanical test methods
  • Probabilistic life prediction and design of brittle components
  • Fracture mechanics and finite element analysis

Biography

Andrew Wereszczak earned his bachelor’s degree in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University (Alfred, NY) in 1987, and his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1992. He presently is a Distinguished R&D Staff Member in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division. He has worked at ORNL in two stints; from 2002 to the present and from 1991 to 2000. He worked at the US Army Research Laboratory from 2000-2002. Most of his professional career has been devoted to the characterization and modeling of the relationship between mechanical response of brittle materials and their microstructure. His work has contributed to the development of diverse sets of ceramics and other brittle materials considered for use in components for advanced gas turbine engines, internal combustion engines, glass manufacturing furnaces, armor, hybrid bearings, gun barrel liners, thermoelectric devices, power electronic devices, and photovoltaic cells. He has authored or co-authored over 175 publications including three book chapters, several patents and pending invention disclosures, has a copyrighted software program developed for microstructural-level thermomechanical modeling to his credit, has given over 100 presentations, and presently is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Applied Glass Science. Wereszczak became a Joint Faculty Professor in early 2014.

Education

  • PhD, Delaware: Mechanical Behavior, Science and Engineering of Ceramics, Glasses, and Brittle Materials

Professional Service

  • American Ceramic Society (ACerS):  Engineering Ceramics Division, Glass and Optical Materials Division
  • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM):  C-28 Advanced Ceramics
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Senior Member:  Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology Society

Awards & Recognitions

  • 2026, Advanced Ceramics Award, ASTM International 
  • 2011 Fellow, American Ceramic Society
  • 2009 Distinguished R&D Staff Member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • 2009 Chair, ACerS’s Engineering Ceramics Division
  • 2008 Program Chair, International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites
  • 2008 ACerS’s Richard M. Fulrath Award

Research Publications

A full list of publications is available on Google Scholar.